A team of researchers at Northwestern University in the US has developed an app that can help users scan a packaged food’s barcode, quickly see its nutritional rating and identify similar foods that are healthier.
Unlike other nutrition apps, the FoodSwitch app also asks users to crowd-source information on new and changing foods within a country’s food supply to update the app’s 268,000-product database in real time. The app provides a simple Health Star Rating that scores each food between 0.5 stars of unhealthy to 5 stars of the healthiest.
The scoring is based on a scientific algorithm that weighs the impact of different nutrients on health. The app also provides a breakdown of the food’s fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt in grams and gives a percentage of an adult’s daily intake for each, which is shown as red, yellow and green lights.
FoodSwitch has been launched successfully in many countries, including India, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, China, South Africa and Hong Kong, and is available in Apple and Google Play stores.